A.C.A.D.E.M.Y.

Revolver 2006

ISBN 3865883036

A project consisting of an international series of exhibitions and projects realized in cooperation with the Hamburger Kunstverein, Hamburg; the Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths College, London; the Museum of Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen (MuHKA), Antwerp; the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; and initiated by the Siemans Arts Program. The project attempted to address the political situation of academies and art institutions today, and searched for ‘imaginative thinking of the current system and its representation.’ Certain EU educational reforms, the Bologna Declaration in particular, have led to a neoliberally driven ‘professionalization’ of educational institutions, which have been required to maximize productivity, profit, and turnover of students. This has led to a certain level of commodification of the production of knowledge itself. The project explored how academies and art institutions can function as ‘public’ spaces and provide a kind of alternative model for the exchange of ideas.

This site is the web platform of the FORMER WEST project. The project is organized and coordinated by BAK, basis voor actuele kunst. BAK is responsible for the website content.